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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

So bored of 'we left our life in the UK' influencers

137 replies

Prenoden · 15/08/2025 12:47

Seem to be so many now. 'We left our life in the shitty UK for a dream life in [insert any sunnier country]. I'm not actually following these, they just seem to pop up on my social feeds uninvited.

Content on a lot of them is boringly similar, contrasting dull grey skies of previous life vs them now sat on a beach sipping from a coconut with clichéd POV captions.

Obviously everyone is entitled to do what they like and move wherever but why does it always have to be contrasted in this way? As if everyone is crazy for staying in UK. Every place has pros and cons and a lot of these sunny places aren't all they're cracked up to be.

A friend moved to Spain a decade ago in search of this kind of idyllic life and although the weather was lovely etc they said the bureaucracy was terrible, the school system was appalling and once her partner lost his job and couldn't find another that pretty much ended it and they willingly moved back.

Before anyone asks, I'm not bitter because I am stuck on this island. I like it here, it's not perfect and if you watch the news it's all negative, but I live in a lovely town, we have a nice network and I work remotely 4 days a week which is flexible with DC, earning enough money for what we need but always budget etc.

I do think Brexit was a terrible mistake though and the country has been in decline since. We will come to see it as a historic mistake but at the moment the far right loons seem to have a grip on setting the narrative (even though Brexit is their fault).

It's ironic that a lot of these new life influencers are now in sunnier EU countries that Brits could have easily moved to at the drop of a hat before Brexit but now it's a lot harder and bureaucratic, a lot of them create content about how to navigate visas etc. It's like it's become more desirable because it's not so easy anymore.

I actually have Eu citizenship thankfully so can still move to Southern Europe if I wanted to but the economies don't seem great so unless you're retired/ digital nomad it doesn't work. Climate change is also a worry a summers getting hotter everywhere and I wonder what that will mean in 10- 15 years.

OP posts:
Dragonfly97 · 17/08/2025 19:15

MumOf4totstoteens · 17/08/2025 17:49

The fact you know who dawn ward and the real housewives are makes you shallow too - you do know that right 😂 your clearly following their every move! Fml 🤦🏼‍♀️

Hi Dawn.

user482904 · 17/08/2025 19:18

Yes, and it's always Dubai isnt it? I've been to Dubai and you couldnt pay me to live there, it's horrible. I always feel weirdly sad when I see people bragging about living in Dubai. No thanks.

MumOf4totstoteens · 17/08/2025 19:49

Dragonfly97 · 17/08/2025 19:15

Hi Dawn.

I bloody wish lol 😂

Meadowland · 17/08/2025 21:00

@MumOf4totstoteens I really don't think there is any jealousy or envy going on. Just simply that some people choose to leave the UK and others choose to stay or return.
Everyone is different and I think OP is just saying that some people (not all, before you flame me ) who move abroad tend to think their lives are better which is not the case.

Prenoden · 17/08/2025 22:45

GrannyWeatherwaxxx · 16/08/2025 17:23

I left my life in the UK for the sunny dream!

It was shit.

I came home and I never want to leave again. I know several families who have also returned. It isn’t one long happy sunny holiday. We lost money.

I wouldn’t tell someone else not to do it, but I wouldn’t be in a hurry. to do it again. Influencers are trying to sell a dream lifestyle, but life can be tricky to navigate wherever you are.

Edited

Can I ask what happened? Where?

OP posts:
BMW6 · 17/08/2025 22:48

OriginalUsername2 · 15/08/2025 14:28

I’m dreaming of moving to Scotland to get away from the heat.

Sadly you'll be driven out of your mind by midges.

Choose which poison to drink.........

Prenoden · 17/08/2025 22:51

Meadowland · 17/08/2025 21:00

@MumOf4totstoteens I really don't think there is any jealousy or envy going on. Just simply that some people choose to leave the UK and others choose to stay or return.
Everyone is different and I think OP is just saying that some people (not all, before you flame me ) who move abroad tend to think their lives are better which is not the case.

Yes exactly this. Everyone chooses where they prefer to be but this trend of comparing and knocking where you've come from is tiresome. I'll have to try and do something to change my algorithm as these posts still seem to find me

Or maybe I should just stay of social media altogether. It seems flooded with so many influencers creating same type of content recently.

Not just I moved to x country, the UK is shit but also others:

Watch me fold laundry while I overshare about my finances
Spend the day with me doing not much at all
Here's how I make thousands from being an influencer

OP posts:
OriginalUsername2 · 17/08/2025 23:48

BMW6 · 17/08/2025 22:48

Sadly you'll be driven out of your mind by midges.

Choose which poison to drink.........

I did not know about this. That’s killed my idea flat! Bitey things love my blood.

You can tell I’ve not done any research.

BrightLeader · 18/08/2025 08:57

As far as midges are concerned you just need to be prepared as you would be if dealing with mozzies abroad.
They all love me aswell. Even been bitten in my back garden in England.
The weather in the UK has changed & we all need to be aware.

HauntedBungalow · 18/08/2025 13:53

Mosquitoes don't swarm though!

BrightLeader · 18/08/2025 17:20

No but they can give an evil bite which if you are allergic can be very nasty.

Bluedenimdoglover · 18/08/2025 21:15

Of course their lives are wonderful!!!! If you'd given everything up to live in another country you would not display any negativity about your new life, would you? Social media photos and gushing posts should be viewed through rose-tinted glasses! (Think Walt Disney's Bambi).

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